When to start preparing for SAT/ACT?

I’m going to be a junior in HS this fall and I want to get the best test scores as possible for myself. I’m a dedicated student and want to do well. I took the SAT 2 Chem yesterday and it made me start thinking about prepping for the actual SAT/ACT. I would like some advice on when I should start preparing for those tests. This summer? This fall? I am a student athlete who will be taking rigorous classes next year, so is it best to start studying in the summer?

There’s an SAT in August (26th) which you could take if you’re feeling confident enough. You’ll have the summer to review and study, and you’ll take it right at the beginning of the school year before you lose the momentum you gained from reviewing and studying. If you’re going to take the SAT next spring with your school, then you should probably start studying the foundations this summer with a review book. I would save the practice tests until a few months before the tests to get a feel for the tests (fall and winter) but not take them too early that you’ll forget everything. But if you’re good at test-taking and you feel confident, I would take it this August when school hasn’t started yet and study/review over this summer.

I recommend taking it early in junior year, the sooner the better IMO. I know many incoming seniors that have only taken it once or twice and definitely don’t have the scores that they want. Maybe take a diagnostic test to know what you need to work on. You should pretty much have the skills to do well on the reading and English portions but I often find that many aren’t ready for the math section until the end of junior year depending on what math they are in. There are quite a few math problems on the ACT that I didn’t learn how to do until the end of pre-calc. It take a lot of stress of you if you don’t have to go into senior year or even the last quarter of junior year having to still get a certain score on a test.

You should definitely prepare for at least one of the two over the summer. The PSAT is in fall which may be crucial for you. Try to get a plateau in practice score before taking the real test. If money is not an issue, one should really try both ACT and SAT at least in practice tests.